A monkey bite is the bite of a monkey and is the second most common animal bite after dogs in India. Monkey bites account for 2–21% of animal bite injuries. Monkey bites are an important risk among travelers and after dog bites is the most common animal bite for travelers. Treatment depends upon many factors including the suspicion of rabies. Management involves:

Serious infections can result after a monkey bite. Simian herpes B virus is endemic in some species of Asian monkeys. It was first identified by an investigator who was bitten by what appeared to be a healthy monkey. The investigator died shortly thereafter from brain inflammation (encephalitis). Subsequent simian-acquired infections with this virus have occurred with mortality rate as high as 80%. Currently, transmission of the virus through a monkey bite almost always is the result of an occupational exposure by biomedical research workers.[2]

The progression of the infection has been described: "[The infection presents with] herpetic skin lesions and sensory changes [are visible] near the exposure site, fever and nonspecific flu-like myalgias and headaches, fatigue, and progressive neurologic impairment, including dyspnea. Once the central nervous system is involved, the outcome is invariably fatal. But with the deployment of antiviral therapy, both for prophylaxis and treatment, cases are now infrequent and deaths are rare, although they have occurred."[2]

Prevention is accomplished through education and traveler's warnings. Prevention also includes the surveillance for the presence of rabies within monkey populations. Research is lacking in the assessment of the impact of monkey bites.[1][2][3][4][5][6] From 1960 to 2013, 159 cases of rabies infections in humans have been documented as a result of monkey bites. These numbers were gathered from records of traveler's injuries and the prevalence of monkey bites in area residents is assumed to be much higher.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Animal bites Fact sheet N°373". World Health Organization. February 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Gautret, Philippe; Blanton, Jesse; Dacheux, Laurent; Ribadeau-Dumas, Florence; Brouqui, Philippe; Parola, Philippe; Esposito, Douglas H.; Bourhy, Hervé (2014-05-15). "Rabies in Nonhuman Primates and Potential for Transmission to Humans: A Literature Review and Examination of Selected French National Data". PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 8 (5): e2863. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002863. ISSN 1935-2735. PMC 4022521. PMID 24831694.
  3. ^ Johnston, William F.; Yeh, Jesson; Nierenberg, Richard; Procopio, Gabrielle (2015). "Exposure to Macaque Monkey Bite". The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 49 (5): 634–637. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.06.012. PMID 26281802.
  4. ^ Nsabimana, Jean-Marie Mafuko; Moutschen, Michel; Thiry, Étienne; Meurens, François (2008-09-02). "Infection humaine par le virus B du singe en Afrique". Cahiers d'Études et de Recherches Francophones / Santé. 18 (1): 003–008. doi:10.1684/san.2008.0101. ISSN 1157-5999. PMID 18684683.
  5. ^ Newton, Frank; United States Armed Forces (2010). "Monkey bite exposure treatment protocol". Journal of Special Operations Medicine. 10 (1): 48–49. doi:10.55460/FBRG-HMXT. ISSN 1553-9768. PMID 20306415. S2CID 8057261.
  6. ^ Mani, Reeta S.; Sundara Raju, Y. G.; Ramana, P. V.; Manoor Anand, Ashwini; Bhanu Prakash, B. (2016-05-01). "Human rabies following a non-human primate bite in India". Journal of Travel Medicine. 23 (3): taw007. doi:10.1093/jtm/taw007. ISSN 1195-1982. PMID 26988199.
  7. ^ Riesland, Nicholas J.; Wilde, Henry (2015-07-01). "Expert Review of Evidence Bases for Managing Monkey Bites in Travelers". Journal of Travel Medicine. 22 (4): 259–262. doi:10.1111/jtm.12214. ISSN 1195-1982. PMID 26031198.
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